Residents of a North Yorkshire village have been left furious after thousands of travellers descended on a stately home for a week-long evangelical gathering without warning.

Up to 5,000 members of the Light and Life church have arrived for a convention at the 17th century Carlton Towers, home to Lord and Lady Gerald Fitzalan Howard, since the weekend, outnumbering the 1,800-strong population of Carlton, near Selby.

The annual gathering has taken place every year in various locations around the country since 1952.

Thousands of gypsies have arrived for a week-long evangelical festival, with North Yorkshire residents complaining of noise and intimidation

Thousands of churchgoers have arrived in cars, caravans and flatbed trucks to the festival at the 17th century ancestral home of the Duke of Norfolk

Residents say the group started arriving on Friday, with churchgoers from as far away as France and America making the journey to the tiny village.

They have complained of noise and intimidation by the gypsies, but North Yorkshire police have only been called to one incident where a group of young people trespassed on the local cricket pitch.

The force is holding daily security meetings with festival organisers because of the event's large scale, and has put on extra patrols for residents' peace of mind.

Hundreds of caravans have been parked for the week at the Carlton Towers estate, which is the ancestral home of the Duke of Norfolk and once featured in an episode of The Darling Buds of May.

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A local pub landlord complained that he was subjected to verbal abuse and had to work extra hours to cope with the deluge.

James Smith of the Forresters Arms said: 'I was abused with the sort of language I have never heard in my life, especially from the young girls.

'I have never seen anything here on this scale before and the village did not know anything about it.

'On Sunday I worked six or seven hours just to sit on the door.

'I had to shut the toilets three or four times, they were a total mess.

Carlton Towers, pictured, is in the heart of the picturesque village of Carlton, near Selby, North Yorkshire.

Sessions at the Light and Life church evangelical festival include preaching and prayers to 'save' travellers

Mr Smith called for the venue to foot the bill for the running of the event.

He said: 'This is affecting everybody's lives and the police have told us it will take four days to empty the site, there are that many cars.

'I'm going to see the police inspector in charge next week to make sure the bill for the event is paid by Carlton Towers and not the taxpayer. We did not know anything about this, we should not have to pay for it.'

Local county councillor Margaret Hulme said her house had been disturbed by young people ringing on her electronic gates repeatedly on Sunday night, and other villages in the area were also affected.

She said: 'They are not causing any criminal damage but they are intimidating people.

'They are also going into the neighbouring village of Snaith and the clerk of the parish council there said she had to close the offices because so many people were coming in and trying to use the toilets.

'Residents here are absolutely furious.'

The main festival tent is adorned with a 'God is Love' banner and can seat 1,800 people for preaching and prayer events.

Joe Boswell, a pastor of the Light and Life Church and one of the main ministers at the event, said the historic Yorkshire venue was discovered as a site to host this year's festival partly through prayer.

He said: 'We are here to preach the gospel to reach the lost.

'We are evangelical and born in the spirit of God.

'We have had a lot more people than we thought, it is a good problem and a bad one as well. The roads are clear and we are working with police.

'We will be gone on Friday, I will be one of the last ones to leave the field and we will leave it the way we found it.

'There are skips, toilets, and staff here patrolling the road.

'If anyone has any fears that we are staying then that is not what we are here for.

'We are very pleased that the landowners have received us.'

Mr Boswell added: 'There are a lot of groups that are coming from the local area that are not staying on this field and we are responsible for anything that happens in the field area.

'But if we are aware of any problems then we can come and help.'

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'The force is aware of a gathering of the Gypsy Light and Life Church at Carlton Towers in Selby District.

'It is an organised private event which has attracted a large number of people.

'The organisers liaised with the force prior to the event which has been held previously in other areas of the country without incident. Officers are present at the site, as they would be for any event of this size, and have not encountered any problems.

'Reassurance patrols will continue until the conclusion of the gathering on Friday.'

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Villagers ¿in fear¿ as thousands of gypsies descend on grounds of stately home for week-long Christian festival